Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect ICE agents.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for endangering Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the arrival of state military troops in the Chicago region following directives from the current government, notwithstanding vehement protests from Illinois authorities including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump attempted to have a Black man wrongfully arrested," Johnson responded on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Now Trump is calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
As of midweek, National Guard units from Texas had reached the Elwood training facility, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its hardline crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
The president has labeled Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as murders.
That day, 200 state guard troops were expected to deploy to the region, with an additional three hundred state military forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities indicated the soldiers would not perform police functions but would secure federal immigration agents and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Disaster Relief" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Mobile units were arranged in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
Aviation authorities imposed flight restrictions over the army reserve center for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
Earlier this week, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the administration, seeking to block the National Guard deployment, asking a court to stop what they call "the president's proclaimed 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "illegal and risky".
A court hearing on their lawsuit is scheduled for the next day.
The mayor also issued an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using municipal facilities as staging areas for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged Trump of using troops as "staged tools" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on the previous day, Pritzker said that Trump is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of armed soldiers under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. Yet, the president has said he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has dispatched or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the armed forces is essential to fight violence and protect ICE officers.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses across the US has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, murders were down nearly one-third to 278 through August, per police data.
New survey data published on that day found that most Americans oppose the sending of military forces without an foreign danger.
